New this month: Nimble fingers

Your toddler will delight in using her ever-more-dextrous fingers to build towers of blocks, snap plastic beads together, or sew by weaving a thick shoelace in and out of holes cut into felt material or cardboard. Poking and pinching moldable compounds such as Silly Putty, Play-Doh, or clay are also favorite toddler pastimes and great activities to help finesse fine-motor skills. All of the small, precise thumb, finger, hand, and wrist movements involved in these activities support a host of other vital physical and mental skills. For example, to build a tower of blocks, your toddler has to know what to do with the pieces and then come up with a plan for creating the structure.

What you can do:

Set aside an area of your house — a toddler-size table in a playroom or a corner of your toddler's room — for crafts. Keep a few plastic storage containers stocked with moldable compounds, washable markers, crayons, paper, string, cardboard, and beads nearby, so you'll always have supplies on hand.

You can make moldable dough at home: Combine 2 cups white flour, 1/2 cup salt, 2 cups water, 2 tablespoons cooking oil, 2 tablespoons cream of tartar, and a drop of food coloring in a saucepan over medium heat. When the mixture looks smooth, let it cool and give it to your toddler to play with. Store it in an airtight container so it doesn't dry out.

Other developments: Kicking a ball, full speed ahead

Your toddler probably has the physical skill to kick a big ball forward without falling. But if she's having a hard time balancing on one foot and making the connection, demonstrate kicking the ball yourself. Then roll it toward her foot and ask her to kick it back. She'll probably try to imitate you, but even if the ball simply touches her foot, reinforce what just happened by saying "Nice kick." She'll then learn that a kick is when the ball hits and bounces off her foot. Soon, she'll start trying to kick the ball herself.

Your toddler is also probably pretty good at going from standing to running by now — but not great at stopping or turning corners once in motion. Expect more bumps and bruises until your toddler develops the coordination to slow down as easily as she accelerates. Wide-open spaces such as a backyard or park are great places for toddlers to run with abandon.